Powell Valley Winter of 08

[Dems4me]

The lighting at this time of day really wasn't very good.

[ManiacJoe]

1. This photo has potential.

I like the layering of the mountains in the background.

Short of a gradient neutral density filter, a little post-processing can help.
If I may, this is probably a little closer to what you remember?

[Dems4me]

2. Yes it is! I really like what you did

with it. I took this in Febuary of this year. I happened
to be passing through and it was a beautiful scene. This
is a fairly new hobby for me. I used to paint but
Rhuematoid has made that too difficult. Even though
I am a total novice and I just have a 'point and shoot'
this is a wonderfully absorbing hobby.

[intheflow]

3. Don't disparage the point and shoots.

I really loved my point and shoot, a little Canon Powershot. I'd probably still be using it but my ex gave me a Canon Rebel a few years ago. Like the first response illustrated, the beauty of digital is that it's very forgiving and flexible given the east of post-processing. Have fun! :hi:

[Dems4me]

4. I have been looking at the Rebel XSi - sort of my in cost range- .

I have been torn between the Rebel and the Nikon?
If nothing happens between now and just after Christmas I plan
on getting one of the two. I Hope!! :-)

[CC]

5. Both are good cameras.

I suggest going somewhere where you can hold and play with the controls. Choose the one that feels best in your hands and is easiest for you to get to the controls on keeping in mind that though new to you now you will get to where the controls are second nature very quickly.



Great picture and if/when you do get a new camera keep the point and shoot. They do come in handy.

[ManiacJoe]

6. Excellent advise!

Get to a camera store and play with the various cameras. You cannot go wrong with any of the big name players. One of the cameras will feel best in YOUR hands. Whichever one that is, that is the best one for you. I happen to prefer the Nikons, and I prefer the larger bodies; but that is just me.

[ManiacJoe]

7. The catch to digital photography is the post-processing.

With film, it used to be that folks would take the pictures then send them to the labs for processing. With digital, you are now the lab.

Lots of good shots get taken with point&shoots. While the equipment can help, much of quality comes from the person behind the camera not the equipment.

This type of photo is difficult for all cameras (DSLRs and point&shoots) due to the dynamic range of the light (difference between the darks and lights) being greater than what the sensor can handle. With some gradient neutral density filters, you could darken the sky which would help even out the highs and lows. However, that is not usually an option with P&S cameras.

I used Photoshop to lighten the darks. I created a "levels" adjustment layer greatly increasing the gamma and applied it using a diagonal, gradient mask so that the sky was not adjusted.

[Dems4me]

8. I have few things on my pc for editing, but honestly I haven't really used them

for this sort of thing. I have done red eye reduction and copped.
But there is learning curve there for me that I haven't tackeled yet.
I'm going see what I can do with them.
Thank You